The Italian version was a lot tougher than the Irish version. Italy seemed to crackdown just as there was a big increase in the number of a Argentines seeking the same. The Argentines with Irish backgrounds (some in addition to the Italian heritage) had an easier time getting Irish citizenship.

 

I decided to order new documents rather than spend forever digging through the approximately 4.2 billion pieces of paper in my mother's basement, or risk rejection on the tatted birth certificate she has carried in her wallet for 50 years.

I ordered my grandfather's birth cert from Ireland ($30). They processed my credit card, so I assume they found it and have shipped it. I've seen two different birthrates for him, two days apart, so hopefully that does not cause an issue. Also got his death certificate from the county - $20 online.

For my mothers birth and marriage certs I have to get the Detroit records. The city just transferred all record keeping and requests to Wayne County beginning this week. I'm going to head down in person tomorrow rather than risk mailing requests into a black hole of bureaucracy. I'm also not sure what the cost is since the city and county charge different rates and have confusing websites. Hopefully they will release her birth cert to me - I have her signature on the request and a copy of her DL. If not, I will just have them mail it to her house.

I have all my records, so my total investment so far is about $75.

 

Keep us updated. I am thinking of applying as well.

 

Me bride carried the Irish passport in case she was hijacked. Show Irish instead of US. (And a US government passport at that!)

 

Just discovered "there's a forum for that".
http://www.immigrationboards.com/ireland/

 

Finally got all of the documentation together and sent my application in to the Irish Consulate in Chicago today. They have an online application you have to go through, but it generates a hard copy you have to sign and have witnessed to mail in, along with the supporting documents. Current fee is up to $351. I spent just about $100 more on all of the official records I needed to gather.

Dublin managed to find my Grandfather's birth certificate from 1886 and I had it by mail in a week. ^ Apparently he was always celebrating his birthday wrong. Everyone thought it was June 6, but the certificate showed August 20th. I contacted the FBR office by e-mail and was told that it is quite common for people born on farms back in the 1800s, and it was not a concern.

Detroit/Wayne County on the other hand could not find my Mother's, so after two weeks returned the paperwork and I had to go to the State. Apparently my mother had no gender when she was born per their form and her name was spelled wrong. She did have a certified wallet size copy, so I sent both based on the advice from the nice folks in Dublin.

Overall what I had to send included:
Me: Birth cert, US passport photocopy, DL photocopy, and three bills/bank statements for proof of address, plus the money order.

Mom: Birth & marriage certs and copy of DL.

Grandfather: Birth & death certs.

The oddest part of the process is the required witness for your signature on the application form. A notary is not acceptable. It has to be a member of a short list of professions including: clergy member, doctor, lawyer, judge, or police officer.

Hopefully it gets processed quickly and is not stuck in limbo for months/years.

 

That's pretty normal in the UK (civil servants and charitable trustees are usually acceptable too) - and an Australian friend was able to get me to sign something when I was still a civil servant, so it seems there's a common theme going on with countries whose legal systems have developed from the English one. It's all about professions who are meant to be above bribery and corruption - bank managers used to be another common one.

 

Is this still correct?

I recall looking into this a few years ago, and IIRC the old rules had changed and the citizenship received applied only to the applicant - spouses, children, etc. did not automatically qualify. So I gave it up then, but if it would still apply, I might go for it.

 

It was about 3 years ago when we went through the process (both kids now have Irish citizenship). We did have to go through a long process to get them citizenship, it took about a year, so it wasn't automatic. Unfortunately there's no path for spouses any longer.

Don't know if it has changed since though.

 

It gets tricky as I understand it. In my case, if I had kids now, they would not be eligible since their grandparent (my mom) was not born in Ireland and I was not a citizen at their birth. If my cousin did the same, their kids could apply since my aunt (their grandparent) WAS born in Ireland. If I have kids after they grant me citizenship, they could apply based on a parent being Irish when they were born.

Bank manager was also on the list of witnesses. I went with a Polish priest which is a bit ironic as my other half is Polish.

 

I came across this thread as a result of starting the process of applying for Irish citizenship by descent through a grandparent. Any updates on this? Have you received any acknowledgement of your application, or better yet, been granted citizenship?

I am applying via the consulate in Boston shortly and know the standard processing times, but am wondering how long the process actually takes.

 

Not unusual because you had to pay to register the birth and you only had a certain amount of time so people would change the birthday to be within the time. My grandad (born in the early 20th century) was baptised before he was born (According to the date on his birth certificate) - my grannie said it was because his parents didn't have the shilling to pay.

 

The Chicago Consulate told me via e-mail that it takes at least 12 months to process. I have not received any acknowledgement (except USPS delivery tracking) that my application was received. I'm not even sure if they cashed the money order - that was also from USPS and their website does not seem to work when tracking money orders - several that I used in requesting records all come back as "no information available". If the 12 months is accurate, I won't hear anything until March 2015 or later.

From what I have read, this is normal. You will simply receive the FBR certificate at some random date in the future, unless they need more info where you will receive a mailed request at some random date in the future. You just have to let the bureaucracy run its course.

 

Appreciate the response! The Consulate here says up to six months, but we shall see. Sending them my documents this week. Will keep you updated as well.

 

I would be surprised if it ends up taking the full 12 months, as commonly it takes well less than that.

Payment indeed -- or to avoid taxation -- were reasons this would happen rather frequently in various parts of the world.

I have/had lots of relatives whose birthdays are messed up in government records, including US ones, because when it came time to school registration some wanted their kids to start earlier, or because the person taking the kids to school to register didn't know the actual birthday and would just sort of guess. These kind of situations with others too has led to amusing things to see. For example visa applications where biological siblings with same parents have birth dates less than 4 months apart -- born back in the era before the Korean War.